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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. field — a subject
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. field — for sport
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stand — to bear
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. field — farmland
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. game — a match
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. stand — for spectators

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com